CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Several college students got a real-life Halloween scare when they answered a knock at the door expecting trick-or-treaters, and instead came face-to-face with armed robbers.

Police said two very similar robberies happened less than a mile apart in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte area late Wednesday.

In the first, a young woman in the University Club Apartments opened the door when someone knocked around 10 p.m. and was robbed at gunpoint inside her home.

A short time later, seven young women inside a home at College Park The Edge heard a knock at the door and found four men dressed in all black and wearing black makeup standing outside. The armed men forced their way inside and robbed all of them before taking off toward the UNCC parking lot.

Officers said they’ve had a number of robberies in the area lately, and they believe college students are being targeted. Sgt. H.W. Henson with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said students in the area need to be more careful.

Henson said officers are also being asked to be on alert in the area.

The management at The Edge said they plan to hire security guards and fix a broken gate in order to curb the crimes. They’ve also sent fliers to all residents to warn them about the robberies.

While some students said they’re comforted by the measures being taken, others told Eyewitness News they plan to move.

Anyone with information about the robberies should call Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.